Tag Archives: Ad Industry

Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.

Newspapers and journalists are cashing in on WikiLeaks’ war on secrecy as Hollywood studios scramble to buy the “life rights” to key characters involved in 2010’s publication of thousands of classified documents. At least five film versions of the WikiLeaks story are in development from groups including DreamWorks, HBO, the BBC and Universal Pictures. This has set off a fight for exclusive adaptation rights to the books and articles published about the saga.

As broadcasters cool their heels during the summertime lull, a drama drought threatens to shake up the prime time landscape. Luckily, a few new series look promising, although the shows that could have the biggest impact won’t premiere until mid-season.

Mark Burnett, who more or less created the reality programming business in American television, is back in the ratings fast lane. The Voice” has given Mr. Burnett a third cultural phenomenon, after “Survivor” on CBS, which changed the landscape of the medium 11 years ago, and “The Apprentice” on NBC, which seven years ago gave that network one of its few recent bursts of ratings success.

LAST year, fans of “Mad Men” could buy versions of Barbie and Ken dressed in outfits inspired by the television series. This year, they will be able to dress that way themselves. The Banana Republic unit of Gap Inc., which has teamed up previously with “Mad Men” for marketing promotions, is doing so again this summer with what will be their most extensive joint effort to date.

The rich — and marketers who cater to them — just keep getting richer as everyone else struggles through a so-called recovery. That fact of economics could reshape marketing strategies this year, and for years to come.

Hulu Strikes New Commercial Deal with DisneyMediaPost 06.24.11 With speculation of a possible sale of Hulu, the big online video site has struck a new TV program deal with co-owner Walt Disney Co. that will bring more commercials to shows. According to stories in Bloomberg and Variety, who first reported on the deal, the new agreement will include more commercial time during a typical TV program.

Expanding on the clever viral campaign that brought the Petite Lap Giraffe prank earlier this year, DirecTV is having fun with another punk: a faux trailer for an “original” TV series — Football Cops — starring NFL stars/brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, with a cameo from their dad, Archie.

In an extension of its “Bacardi Together” campaign, Bacardi rum has launched a multi-platform effort employing Live Nation Entertainment’s digital, mobile and social media properties. The “Best Shared Live” campaign is targeting 20-something consumers who enjoy nightlife and music by helping them plan summer activities and connect with one another, according to the brand.

Facebook is throwing up a red velvet rope around a new VIP page. And today Audi and online influence indexer Klout are creating tools to help the web’s savviest users jump it. Brands will be able to give favored treatment to visitors through both a free and paid app created by social media front-end developer Involver.

In a new study that benchmarked website visits against the number of fans on their respective Facebook pages, Hitwise analyst Robin Goad has revealed that “within retail, each new fan acquired will drive an additional 20 visits to a retailer’s website.”

HBO expected to see its 3 millionth download of the HBO Go app — the mobile version of the pay channel — sometime last night, company officials said over the weekend. The app — which allows people who already subscribed to HBO to watch 1,400 shows in the channel’s library — is only three weeks old.

Google-owned YouTube is on the hunt for premium longform content, whether movies it can buy or original series it can finance, in hopes of packaging them into a more channel-centric structure than the site currently provides.

Putting an emphasis on quality rather than quantity, the Academy Awards shook up the best picture category again. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced late Tuesday night that it had approved a change in the nomination process that will allow between five and 10 best picture nominees. On the recommendation of its Board of Governors, the number of the category’s nominees will be dictated by the voting.

CBS soap “The Bold and the Beautiful” won four Daytime Emmys to lead all programs in the ceremony Sunday at the Las Vegas Hilton. PBS was the overall Daytime Emmy champ with 14 total awards, all of which – including eight for “Sesame Street” – came during Friday’s presentation of craft and other categories. Boosted by eight overall awards for “General Hospital,” ABC was next with 13 total awards (10 on Friday), followed by CBS with 12 overall (five on Friday).

Users of Microsoft’s popular Xbox Kinect gaming console will soon be able to use voice and motion commands to interact with advertisements while they are playing their favorite game or watching a video.BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Jabot Cosmetics has been a bustling concern for years, even though the average person has been unable to sample its wares or buy any of its products. That’s changing, however, as Jabot, a fictional marketer that exists solely in the storylines of CBS’s long-running “Young & the Restless,” turns actual marketer and takes on the likes of L’Oreal and Maybelline.

When most people read comic books, it’s an escape from reality. But to those in search of connecting with their own desirable demographic – specifically, guys in their 20s – that doesn’t mean a whole lot. And so, product placements have come to the comics world. And the advertisers involved are not small potatoes.

Diet Coke is launching a fashion channel with the help of Yahoo UK. The site will be hosted under Yahoo Lifestyle. “Style It Light” will feature fashion news, style galleries, reviews, fashion advice, and interactive content. Each segment will be integrated with product placements from Diet Coke.

The New York Times reports that Facebook is finally planning to release an iPad app in the coming weeks. The free app, which has been “carefully designed and optimized for the tablet,” has been in the works for almost a year, going through several design iterations, and is now in the final stages of testing, according to sources.

Enter Pose 2.0, a new social site which allows users to upload their finds to the site to then be “loved” or shared by others on the network. Free to download for iOS from the iTunes App Store, Pose’s platform allows users to showcase their style finds through photos, geo-tagging, Twitter and Facebook sharing, and also provides a place for brand, price, and store location info.

Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.

ADVERTISING NEWS Commercials on Cablevision Let Viewers Opt In to Receive Online CommunicationAdAge 06.14.11
Cablevision is offering marketers the chance to email viewers who see their commercials and use their remote controls to ask for more information. The offer follows several other Tv-advertising developments that change TV commercials from weapons of mass seduction to promotional tools that solicit the most granular information from viewers.

Time Lends Cover for Apocalyptic ImageNYT 06.12.11
Time agreed to allow Activision to use its signature red-bordered cover and nameplate in a mock poster for the latest version of the [Call of Duty]. It is the first time an authorized Time cover has been created to promote a commercial product.

Sony Pictures and Nikon Try LayarPSFK 06.14.11
Hollywood studio Sony Pictures is using AR to promote the DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes release of its Battle: Los Angeles film. Sony Pictures is the latest brand to experiment with mobile AR as a marketing tool, following Layar’s announcement last week that camera firm Nikon is using its platform in the Netherlands.

BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT NEWSA Star Search, With Bing’s HelpNYT 06.08.11
A NEW reality competition series that will search for someone to join the cast of the hit show “Glee” is teaming up with a brand that, appropriately enough, helps with searches.

Pakistan’s Image Hits Positive Note Thanks to Coke StudioAdAge 06.13.11
Pakistan has been in the news a lot lately, but the coverage hasn’t exactly been flattering. And that helps explain why “Coke Studio,” now in its fourth season, is a runaway success. “Coke Studio” is attracting viewers in droves and has become a key element of Coca-Cola’s strategy to not only net the youth population in Pakistan but to grab share from PepsiCo, the market leader in the country.

SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH NEWSHearst Opens App LabAdweek 06.08.11
Fresh from closing on the Hachette Filipacchi Media deal, Hearst Corp. this week opened the Hearst App Lab, a “think tank” for digital apps. David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, said the idea was to have a place where employees can learn about the tablet market, develop apps, and brainstorm ideas with advertisers and ad buyers.

Why Permitting Comments Boosts Facebook and BrandsBrandChannel 06.13.11
How to use social media is still a mystery for some brands, especially luxury brands. As one recent study reveals, one in five luxury brands on Facebook still don’t allow their fans to comment on their Wall. That’s all scheduled to change this August when Facebook says it will require branded FB pages to allow comments.

Social Media: The Second GenerationWomen’s Wear Daily 06.08.11
Forget those who “like” you. Go after the ones who don’t. That’s the new strategy emerging in the ever-evolving world of social media.

Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Glenn Beck Starts His Own Paid Online Network Mashable 06.07.11
Glenn Beck, who is planning to leave the Fox News Channel at the end of this month, has started his own online network, GBTV, which will charge a monthly subscription fee.ABC Confirms Katie Couric Show Variety 06.06.11
Long-awaited talk show pact calls for anchor to contribute to ABC News.‘Modern Family’, ABC Lead Nominations for Inaugural Critics’ Choice Television Awards Deadline 06.06.11
The Broadcast TV Journalists Association, the recently launched offshoot of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, just announced nominations for its inaugural Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Fueled by Modern Family , which led the series field with 6 nominations, including best comedy series, ABC topped all networks with 16 nominations.ADVERTISING NEWSA Direct Approach to Disaster Relief From Procter & GambleNYT 06.02.11
Procter & Gamble, the consumer goods giant, is taking the unusual approach of providing disaster relief directly. Days after the tornado, two of the company’s brands, Tide and Duracell, arrived with their own specially equipped trailers and crews, which set up in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Joplin.PBS Plans Promotional Breaks Within Programs NYT 05.30.11
PBS officials told member stations at its recent annual meeting in Orlando that beginning this fall, the Wednesday science series “Nature” and “Nova” would contain corporate and foundation sponsor spots, promotional messages and branding within four breaks inside the shows, instead of at the very beginning and end.Are Video Games Now More Sophisticated Than Movies? PSFK 06.03.11
The appearance of pioneering new adventure game LA Noire has reignited a debate among gamers and film lovers which has been bubbling under for years.BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Oscar-Nominated Directors Russell and Aronofsky Compete for Cash Brand Channel 06.07.11
Russell has teamed with the top-shelf booze brand to put together with Brooklyn band Alberta Cross for a new campaign called “Gentlemen, This is Vodka.” But he’s not the only one. Oscar-nominated director ( Black Swan) Darren Aronofsky has followed up his Academy nom with his own ad.GM Extends Tentpole Strategy with the X-Factor Deal Brand Channel 06.06.11
A bigger brand story demands a bigger audience and a bigger canvas. And now GM has opted for yet another big-marketing gambit: a major sponsorship of The X Factor , Simon Cowell’s American Idol competitor that will begin airing on FOX this fall.Oliver Peoples’ Product Placement Time Machine Visits Gregory Peck Brand Channel 05.31.11
Sunglasses brand Oliver Peoples is a favorite of celebrities and a staple of onscreen product placement. It’s most recent high profile role was on the face of Bradley Cooper in the Hangover sequel. Now the brand is doing a little product placement revision, and putting itself onto the face of one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors in one of Hollywood’s most iconic movies.SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH NEWSTaking the Customer From Check-In to the Checkout Line NYT 06.05.11
A new feature from Meebo is trying to bridge the gap between check-ins at brick-and-mortar locations and online deals by allowing users to check into Web sites.Rules of Engagement, From the NBA Social Media War Room FastCompany 06.03.11
While bored traditional sports reporters wait for quotes from the megastars, the NBA’s elite social media team finds images, videos, and moments that take followers up close and behind the scenes of the Finals. We follow–literally–the social media masters during before, during, and after the action to watch how it all works.Microsoft Brings Live TV to XBox MediaPost 06.06.11
Microsoft made a strategic move Monday, announcing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles it would integrate its search engine Bing into the company’s entertainment console, Xbox 360.

Great minds think alike, right? TWEED Flashback is helping minds connect by scouring the web once-a-week for any and all relevant entertainment, branded content and industry stories. Get a heads up and stay in the know with TWEED Flashback.

The live semi-final drew almost 11 million viewers, with fans tuning in to see Cowell on air for the first time in the series, on a show broadcast just hours after he announced that Cheryl Cole would not be presenting X-Factor UK.

After speculation that NBC’s breakout hit The Voice may land the post-Super Bowl slot in February, NBC made it official today. Given its midseason launch, the singing competition appeared the leading contender for the biggest annual series showcase.

Around 7% of UK households, or 1.5m of the total 21.3m, use mobile devices exclusively to connect to the internet, and a total of 3.6m, or 17%, used mobile broadband for internet access, according to new research by communications regulator Ofcom.

Universal Pictures is bringing items from its movies into the virtual world. It has teamed up with Virtual Greats, an online platform that enables copyrighted, branded material to be sold on social networks and virtual games.

One year after Hearst bought iCrossing, we are now seeing evidence of the publishing giant’s influence on the digital agency. ICrossing is launching a content unit, Live Media Studio, dedicated to producing blogs, interviews, tips, videos and infographics for brands.

Apple set the agenda for its World Wide Developers Conference, set to start next week in San Francisco. In a bit of a surprise move, Apple said that its new cloud initiative would be part of the topics of discussion and that it would indeed be named iCloud.

Last week, Alaska Airlines announced its intentions to replace pilots’ 25-pound paper flight manuals with iPads by mid-June. Alaska Airlines is the first major domestic airline to do so. The initiative will “enhance flight safety, improve efficiency and protect the environment,” the company believes.

While Twitter lets us tell the world what we’re doing, and Foursquare lets us tell the world where we’re doing it, a new generation of apps and checkin services now lets us tell the world what brand we prefer to do it with. We can grab online deals based on our location and send out what amounts to a Tweet-sized roll call of our recreational choices.